Blog # 8
January 8, 2017
This blog is authored by Study Abroad in India student Wendy Barrales
who is a PhD candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, and a founding teacher at Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy.
Icebergs are often underestimated in size. What is visible to the eye is only a small part of an immense structure. Culture is similarly misunderstood. We assume that our knowledge of tangible outputs--- food, clothes and music--- tell us enough about a particular culture. But just like icebergs, when we dig further and look beyond the surface, we begin to see the complexity and depth of its values and foundation. Prior to arriving in New Delhi, we discussed this idea of culture as a reminder to push our understanding beyond what meets the eye. At yesterday's afternoon tea with Professor Gupta's family, we got to see below the iceberg and soaked in the values embedded within family.
Unlike
British afternoon tea, featuring scones with clotted cream and small
cucumber
sandwiches, Indian tea time is vibrant and flavorful. The color and
smells wafting from the table were intoxicating as we impatiently waited
to try some pohe (a flattened rice with turmeric green peas and fresh
cilantro). We had an incredible selection of samosas
and bread pakoras accompanied with spiral orange sweet jalebis and white
squares of milk based burfi to settle our sweet tooth cravings. Not
only were we expanding our understanding of Indian cuisine, but we were
also part of a beautiful moment of family togetherness.
The warmth we felt yesterday provided us all with a comforting sense of familiarity despite being miles from home. Our understanding of the culture iceberg was broadened that day. Not only did we see how values play out within a family setting, we were also able to see how similar and alike our cultures can be. There are some things in the world that transcend countries and cultures, and the warmth we felt in that home was a universal feeling of love.
As
we sipped tea, Professor Gupta's auntie shared
a wealth of knowledge from her experience within the field of education.
She has a sharp sense of humor and infectious energy causing all of us
to gravitate towards her. Two of our classmates wore traditional Indian
saris and she gave us a small description
on the traditional clothing for various parts of India. Lastly, we
shared a few laughs about the complicated relationships we have with our
mothers, a topic of conversation that is relatable and universal to us
all.
The warmth we felt yesterday provided us all with a comforting sense of familiarity despite being miles from home. Our understanding of the culture iceberg was broadened that day. Not only did we see how values play out within a family setting, we were also able to see how similar and alike our cultures can be. There are some things in the world that transcend countries and cultures, and the warmth we felt in that home was a universal feeling of love.